Class 




Book .-^^^ 
Gopy]iglitF_ 



'^. 



CQESRIGHT DE^Sm 



IN 
GOD'S GARDEN 



IN 
GOD'S GARDEN 

MEDITATIONS ON 
SELF- DEVELOPMENT 

BY 

LUCY MSDOWELL MILBURN 




PRINTED BY 

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF 

SEWANEE TENNESSEE 

MCMXVI 



3> 



< 



^ 



'^'^.1^ 



r 



•■S*^ .^N 



fc 



Copyright 1 916 
By Lucy McDowell Milburn 




.JAN -4 1917 



©Gi,A453518 



Contents 

I. Planting Perennials 7 

II. The Garden Wall 12 

Tii. The Garden Hat 20 

IV. A Shady Bower 24 

V. The Jars 26 

VI. The Torch 34 

VII. Taking Athene to Walk 39 

VIII. Our Element 46 

IX. Meditation 5^ 

X. Healing of the Nations 57 

XI. Concentration 62 

XII. Creative Concentration 71 

XIII. Suggestion 75 

XIV. Auto- Suggestion 81 

XV. The Garden Gates 89 



Upon my face I fall. 

As on the Sacred Name I call. 

Father in heaven, 
Thou alone knowest me. 

1 Thy sinful child. 

Passing through the desert wild. 

Come to Thee 

To m.ake me free. 

Thou only, Thou alone 

Understandest Thine own. 

Thou sent the Holy One, 

Who could atone; 

One to show the way, 

One Who the debt did pay! — 

Then why do we delay 

To claim, our own? 



Planting Perennials 

In God's garden all His children 
should blossom and bear fruit. 

Our bodies are plots of ground in the garden of 
God, portions of Mother Earth allotted us 
for cultivation. Are we doing the most with 
our bodies? Are we developing them outside 
and inside? The body should be held well, 
moved rhythmically and made as beautiful as 
possible. Every care should be taken of this 
precious plot of ground in order that our tree of 
life may blossom and bear fruit. 

As flowers without roots wither fast, so beauty 
only of the flesh soon goes. A top dressing for 
the soil is all very well for small flowers, but for 
hardy plants, for trees or flowering perennials, 
we must needs dig deep, turn up all the old 
roots; get rid of that which cumbers the soil. 
Throw out the stones, break up the clods and 
let air and light come in to regenerate. 

We should begin to dig in the heart. This is 
the richest spot in all our garden, the one most 



In God's Garden 



necessary to cultivate. If it is in a good state 
it can be used to fertilize all the rest of the 
ground. 

Digging may not go deep enough; we may 
need plowing. The glebe in the heart may be 
very stubborn, or the stubble standing in the 
way. There may be bitter or even rotten roots 
in the heart which choke the growth of the good. 
This tends to discouragement, but it should not. 
All these things of the past may be placed be- 
neath the earth and will in time help to enrich 
the earth. Only plow deep enough ; turn the 
earth over the old roots; pound down the clods; 
water well the field with fervent prayer; then 
begin to plant the seeds. 

If the heart is right, that is a great gain. "As 
a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" is poetry 
badly translated. No one thinks in his heart — 
we can only think in our heads. A better read- 
ing of the text would be. As a man thinks and 
as he feels in his heart, so is he. If we have a 
good feeling towards God and man and keep on 
cultivating this good feeling, keeping self in the 
background, we shall soon begin to grow. Often- 



Planting Perennials g 

times the higher self in man is asleep so that he 
is ruled by the lower self and leads a life of self- 
indulgence. Such lives are never happy, for the 
birds do not sing in a garden where there is 
nothing for them to feed upon. 

Whether we are leading lives of luxury or 
lives of labor, if we are dissatisfied it is well to 
pray for the plowman to come. The coulter may 
hurt. If it drives very deep it is sure to turn up 
some rubbish, probably some stones. These 
must be gotten rid of, if in the heart they stop 
the circulation. It may not amount to hardness 
of heart, only stones for stumbling, irresolution, 
doubt, fear, something that impedes progress. 
Throw them out, even if they seem precious to 
the eyes. Sweep up all the rubbish, even if in 
so doing it takes away objects long treasured, — 
perchance all our bank account. Clean up; 
begin anew. Having thrown o.ut all the stones 
for stumbling; having buried all bitterness, wrath, 
ill will and uncharitableness, then plant firmly, 
and plant the best. 

First, the Tree of Knowledge, whose fruit makes 
us realize what we are, why we are here, and 



10 In God^s Garden 

what our work is; which furnishes us with food 
for all our days here and hereafter; we should 
cultivate to the largest extent. An English poet 
has wisely said, "Knowledge is material for wis- 
dom to build with." 

The Tree of Help for Humanity has a 
wonderful blossom; its perfume will last be- 
yond our earth's days. When this tree flowers 
in our garden it makes the face glow with its 
beauty. 

The Tree of Universal Peace is a very small, 
short, bushy shrub, but its fruit is so nourishing. 
One should cultivate this to a large extent and 
scatter its seeds broadcast. 

With these three trees in good condition the 
birds will come to nest in our garden. There 
will be singing for hours each day, and lovely 
things we never knew we had planted will spring 
■up and blossom and bear fruit. 

There is a tree that God plants in every hu- 
man heart when the ground is made ready by 
us. It stands in the centre of our plot of ground. 
If it is not growing and flourishing it is because 
we have not cleared out the rubbish or that we 



Planting Perennials ii 

have allowed weeds to choke it or have neglected 
to water it. 

This is the Tree of Life, whose leaves give 
healing to the nations.* It is worth caring for. 
It bears the fruit of continued existence. 

*Rev. xxii, 2. 



The Garden Wall 



And he measured the wall thereof, an hun- 
dred and forty and four cubits, according to 
the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 

It may be that our mantle of clay is too thin, 
that we are hurt by the winds of ill will or that 
people press too close and the fragile soul suffers 
thereby. Oftentimes our environment is uncon- 
genial. Even if this happens to be the best, 
yet the thought of those at a distance who dis- 
like or misunderstand us may effect us unpleas- 
antly. It may be that we must come in contact 
with a number of people who quite unconsciously 
are infringing upon our territory. If we feel ill 
at ease with those near us, yet know our thought 
is kindly towards all; if it is our province to go 
much into the world and the crowd disagrees 
with us so that we weary physically or tire men- 
tally from having too many people about us; 
then it is of importance to build a wall around 
our garden — a protective outer wall. 

Many persons seem to be eternally shut in. 



The Garden Wall 13 

They have a pinched look, even though they 
are constantly doing things, they never seem to 
accomplish anything very worth while, or to take 
much pleasure in their work. They are not 
hiding behind a wall, they are just huddling 
themselves together on one or another mound 
of their plot of ground; usually they have not 
begun to dig; they never have explored the re- 
gion of the heart. They sit on their stomachs 
and, like the leaves that turn brown in August, 
they dry up in middle age. Then there are 
persons who hop around from one mound to an- 
other, never cultivating any of their talents, never 
sowing any good seed. They run hither and 
thither after this or that new cult or fad, asking 
for the latest style and the last trashy novel. If 
by any chance these persons get to their hearts 
they may be very kind, but with the best of in- 
tentions they do many mistaken charities and 
constantly worry those about them by their 
scatterbrain way of proceeding. The leaves of 
their tree are red, but are blown about by every 
wind. We need not commiserate those who 
hop about as we should do those who are hud- 



14 In God^s Garden 

dling themselves together on one mound, for 
they will get somewhere through their hearts, 
those red leaves flying around the lawn may 
bring pleasure to some one, while the dried 
brown ones must just crumble and go back to 
earth again. 

To neither of these classes of persons will the 
garden wall appeal: the selfish person does not 
need it; the scatterbrained one could not build 
it. This protective outer wall is for those whose 
garden is planted; who are living the life we are 
bidden to live; that of going into all the world 
with our banner of life, taking part of the re- 
freshment we have gained from our green fields 
to others whose grain has not yet bladed. 

Yes, we must go out, but may we not choose 
the time and the place so as not to waste the 
precious oil of our lamp of life? 

Having enlarged the boundaries of the heart to 
the utmost, so that our garden is fully enriched; 
having plowed and planted and seen the green 
springing things, the sight of which sends a thrill 
through us, a pulsation of pleasure as of the 
spring arriving; now, instead of suffering our 



The Garden Wall 15 

tender herbs to be rudely shaken or trampled 
on, we needs must build a wall around our plot 
of ground, our earth body. It may be that our 
trees are bearing fruit before we feel the necessity 
for this wall. These precious trees may break 
down with the burden of their fruit if not pro- 
tected. We may have been too generous in 
giving of our time and strength, too anxious to 
feed the world. So rather than see our trees 
broken, our fruit fallen ere ripe, we shall en- 
deavor to protect it. 

Most good things come from within. We 
have, oh, so much more inside than we know of, 
such inexhaustible treasure when we have opened 
the door of the kingdom of heaven in our hearts. 
Yet outside as well as inside are valuable pos- 
sessions, some of which we have not so much as 
dreamed of It is from something outside of 
ourselves, outside of our earth bodies, that the 
garden wall must be built. The impulse to use 
this material, the thought necessary for building 
of our wall comes from within. Now what is the 
material we are to use and how are we to 
obtain it? 



i6 In God's Garden 

We are surrounded by an intangible substance 
which we have named ether. It is invisible to 
most persons, but whether we see it or not we 
may learn to use it. A blind man can learn to 
swim if he uses his breath and his limbs aright 
Nothing can be accomplished without some ef- 
fort. It is by strain and stress that we grow. 
The etheric atmosphere is all about us. It is 
ours for the taking ; we may draw it more closely 
around us by a slight action of the will. 

To breathe deeply and rhythmically a certain 
movement of the body is necessary. Control of 
the diaphragm or of the intercostal muscles, an 
expansion or contraction of the chest. Just as 
we breathe in the air which we do not see, but 
which we may drink deeply of by a slight action 
of the will, so we may wrap the ether about us 
by willing it. 

To draw the elastic ether to us and hold it 
around us, no action of the physical form is re- 
quired. A good time to begin gathering it is 
when walking alone out of doors, when lying in 
a hammock or sitting in the open. We can 
build the wall faster outside in the fresh air, but 



The Garden Wall ly 

when this is not convenient, it can be done in 
your own room at any hour of the day or night, 
sitting, standing or lying down. 

In starting to build this protective outer cov- 
ering, this garden wall, first think of the envelop- 
ing ether. It is like a great white cloud, though 
more attenuated than any cloud we see. Try 
to feel it about you. Though you cannot see 
it with the outer eye, you may imagine it with 
the inner eye; then by a strong action of the will 
pull on it as you would pull back on an oar. 
The ether, like other life forces, comes in 
waves. To have it, to keep it, to use it, we must 
feel the rhythm of it. Then just as we would 
lie back on an oar or float on water, by holding 
ourselves very still inside and bringing the mind 
to bear on this enveloping substance we may 
attract more of it to us. If we love it we surely 
shall, for love is the great cementing force in 
nature. 

When left alone on Mt. Caucasus, to keep his 
uncoveted watch o'er the earth and the sea, 
Prometheus calls upon the powers of nature. 
He distinguishes between air and ether, calling 



i8 In God's Garden 

the latter holy. Again when the Titan feels he 
is a loser in his battle with the gods, not only 
does he beg mother earth to behold how he 
suffers, but he speaks again to the ether,* declar- 
ing it to be the light-bringer. 

If we desire to be enfolded in this ether so 
that it will form the protective outer wall, we 
should practise for a few moments each day the 
exercise of "rowing in ether," then draw it closely 
to us and wrap enough of it about us until we 
feel the invisible veil is thick enough to be as a 
wall to our garden. We hold it by being con- 
scious it is there, that it is ours. Our thought 
gathers it while our love cements it. We may 
have just as much as we need and without price. 
And now we begin to perceive that none of the 
very precious things can be purchased with 
money. The process of making this etheric 
body, envelope, veil, or wall, is so much easier 
and swifter than that of weaving the physical 

* We are accustomed to think of the ether as a medium for 
the waves of light, heat, and sound as a nineteenth cen- 
tury discovery. Yet the Attic bard of the fifth century, B.C., 
personifies ether and speaks of it as bringing the light. 



The Garden Wall 19 

body, a person of average will power may com- 
plete it in three years. After it is built it re- 
quires very little thought to keep it always in 
repair; though a time may come when we shall 
wish to enlarge it* 

Long, long before the wall is finished, if our 
thought about it is simple willing it with faith, we 
will begin to feel the support of this substance 
and realize the seclusion that may be ours even 
in a crowd. It helps us to be in the world and 
yet not of it, to do our work and come in con- 
tact with much that would otherwise fatigue us 
to the point of illness. This etheric substance 
is like a great umbilical cord binding us to our 
Heavenly Parent; through it we are gradually 
brought nearer to the heart-beats of the Creator 
and receive the strength, confidence and protec- 
tion we need. 

* Some writers confuse the etheric wrap with the astral 
body, hence, teach differently respecting it. It is a mis- 
take to think that it only is removed when the spirit leaves 
the body. It may be moved at will. 



The Garden Hat 



Behold when we come into the land, thou 
shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the 
window which thou didst let us down by. 

There are those who do not need to build a 
garden wall; either they have one naturally or 
their physical frame is such that it shields them 
so that other people do not press too close. 
They feel no loss of strength in the crowded 
ways of life. They may — often do — gain more 
than they lose from those about them. 

Very many persons have as yet nothing grow- 
ing in their gardens, — no fields of tender grain; 
no trees bearing fruit; hence, no necessity for a 
wall; so the thought of it means nothing to them. 
They walk in their gardens pleased with the 
stone and clay. They feel no need of plowing 
their field. Planting time has not come for them. 
Yet even these persons may need a garden hat. 
Indeed, they need it more than the one who has 
green fields and shade trees, for the sun's energy 
beating on the naked earth reflects back little 



The Garden Hat 21 

light but makes ofttimes excessive heat which the 
head feels first. 

Noise, worry, too strenuous thinking, tire the 
head. It may be we are too constantly in the 
limelight of life, whether from one reason or an- 
other, if the head suffers, it is well to have a 
garden hat or cap that you may put on or take 
off at will. It is sometimes more difficult to 
make this hat and fit it on than even to build 
our wall, but it does not take so long a time, — 
from three to six months usually. We may 
borrow Hermes' Cap as Perseus did when start- 
ing on his arduous journey. This cap has wings 
and tends to make our thought fly faster and 
does not do much to rest a tired head. If we 
are to have a hat to help us pass through the 
noise and turmoil of town life, or to restore vigor 
to the overtaxed brain by resting our weary 
heads and shielding us from the conflicting 
forces about us, let us weave it ourselves, that 
it may fit us comfortably. First we may choose 
the color. Not white, that reflects too much 
hght; nor black, for that absorbs all the light. 
We know how very unhealthy it is to wear black, 



22 In God^s Garden 

especially for children, as none of the actinic rays 
of the sun can penetrate black, and sunHght is 
necessary for growth. 

If we wish to cultivate a good head of hair it 
is well to go bareheaded when the weather is 
not too cold or the sun too strong. Children 
should go bareheaded most of the time. It is 
not a covering for the physical head we are go- 
ing to make but an astral hat — one to shelter us 
from noise, one to quiet and rest the weary 
brain. 

It is by thought that we manufacture this hat, 
yet it will be real, for thought is creative. That 
which we desire to make by our thought we first 
imagine, then will. Let us then image a hat. 
It may be of any color — preferably of brown or 
dark red or light green (dark green induces 
thought, but light green rests the mind). Our 
hat should be of a soft substance, not too 
heavy, hence, with trimming, we should be able 
to put it on at will and draw it down slowly and 
easily as we would turn an earthen flower pot 
over a newly set out plant. We should not even 
in thought use a flower pot for our heads, it is 



The Garden Hat 23 

far too heavy and too hard. The suggestion is 
merely for the way of putting on the cap or hat. 
Having decided the color and the texture and 
ordered it on, we should settle it comfortably on 
the head, then if desired draw it down to shield 
the eyes from glare. Now, noise and excessive 
light being removed, we may, if we desire absolute 
rest, direct the current of thought away from the 
tired brain by steadily drawing down on the left 
side and in thought rest all our problems, all our 
cares, all our joys, in the heart. When we have 
by a strong action of the will guided the current 
down to the heart, then by another action of the 
will stop thinking, as nearly as possible — just 
feel satisfied. We can will ourselves to feel satis- 
fied just as well as to permit ourselves to feel dis- 
satisfied. Just know that all is right because it is. 

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. 



The Shady Bower 

" The divinity has not a place more desired 
than the human heart." 

Every garden should have a place for shelter 
and for rest. Whether it be a natural seat made 
by an old grape vine Vv'hich has tried to climb, 
first one way and then another, clinging to a tree 
on this side or on that ; turning itself about for a 
better hold upon a branch; or whether there is a 
bench or a stone under a shady tree or a little 
rustic hut overgrown by vines, where perchance 
the humming-birds come to nest and the bees 
sip their sweets. Here in this imaginary bower 
we may rest from the glare of life, be shaded 
from the noon-day heat of duties that crowd. 
Here we may just talk with God and no other. 
Here our souls may commune at will with the 
Great Unseen. If we prepare the place so that 
it is sweet and clean as we should wish it for an 
honored guest and there is room for someone 
else besides ourselves, all we need to do is to 
invite the King and he will come in and will sit 



The Shady Bower 25 

down and sup with us.* If he does not come 
when asked it may be that there is some obstruc- 
tion in the path,t some rubbish stands before the 
door or dead stuft' fills the seat whereon the guest 
should sit. From this sacramental spot we should 
banish everything but Love. No doubt must 
obstruct the path ; no prejudice intrude ; no dis- 
trust sit on the bench ; no grief lie at the door. 
If all within quiescent is, nothing there but love, 
Behold, thy King cometh ! We may rest in the 
assurance that we are entertaining God. We 
may talk with Him in this quiet retreat, for every 
child has a right to speak to his Creator direct, 
and when he does it will not be long before he 
finds his Shady Bower the most deUghtful spot 
in all his garden, a place within himself where he 
may retire for rest and for refreshment. 

*St. John xiv, 23. t St. Mathew iii, 3. 



The J, 



ars 



At the entrance of that path in our garden which 
leads up to the Shady Bower we may place two 
jars to indicate the gateway. Sometimes we see 
columns ; these are ornamental, but the column 
is closed at the top while the jar is open and 
symbolizes the receptive spirit. These jars should 
be large and filled with fresh water ready to use 
for watering the plants. This will speak to us of 
the water of life of which we are bidden to par- 
take freely. 

We should never be satisfied with a small 
quantity of anything eternal. All things are ours, 
and there is such an abundance of grace which 
we may have for the asking. There is an infinite 
supply of light and life waiting to come in. We 
need only have the best. Our Father desires us 
to have all perfect things. How are we to get 
our share of the eternal goods? We are bidden 
to empty out the jars and to fill them with fresh 
water. 

Empty out the jars ! Get rid of old-time prej- 



T h e J ar s 27 

udices, of doubts, of distrust, of despondency, of 
apathy, of indifference, of any and everything 
that clogs the way or that makes for impurity. 
Having emptied the jars we shall put into them 
new desires, frank expression, purity of purpose, 
strong faith, loving kindness. Our part is to 
keep the jars clean and filled with fresh water — 
the Master will convert the water into wine. 

We may find it difficult to empty our jars. 
They may seem to be empty, yet little things still 
chng to the sides. A dark crustation may be at 
the bottom, hardened by time and not easily re- 
moved. 

Probably we have never cast all our cares on 
Him, remembering that He careth for us. The 
weighty matters of life, the burdens we know 
are too great ; our grosser sins ; our deeper per- 
plexities, we take to God, but oftentimes forget 
that we must also go to God with the little cares. 

Some people only pray when in great need. 
Sailors who never think of prayer in fair weather, 
it is said, will fall on their knees as soon as a 
storm strikes the ship. In an earthquake every- 
one prays. But why wait for stress and storm ; 



28 In God's Garden 

why not go to God on fair days when we are 
blessed as well as on dark days when we are 
chastened? When downcast and troubled, when 
a mental or spiritual storm sweeps over us, we 
naturally turn to a Higher Power ; but in pros- 
perous and in peaceful, happy times we are prone 
to forget God. Before our jars can be entirely 
empty we must cast all our cares, all our worries, 
all our perplexities, all our burdens, on Him who 
alone understands us and who is ever ready to 
pour blessing and healing on us and give us 
wine instead of water when the place is made 
ready. 

In very ancient days there lived a sage who 
left a lay of great worth and beauty, wherein we 
read words very like those familar ones of St. 
Peter, only fuller. In the Bhagavad Gita we 
read : "Casting off with thy mind all works upon 
me"; and again, "If thou hast thy thought on 
me, thou shalt by my Grace pass over all hard 
ways ; but if from thought of the I thou hearken 
not, thou shalt be lost." The Hindoo poet puts 
it very clearly. If we are full of self, if the thought 
of the I takes the place of the thought of God ; 



T h e J a r s 29 

if we are selfish and worldly-minded and permit 
the care of earth things to clog our minds so 
that we cannot hear the inner voice, we shall 
not be saved by its warnings. But if our thought is 
ever on the highest, if we are constantly casting off, 
with the mind, everything that hinders us on the 
path; if we are emptying out the jars; we shall, by 
the aid of grace, pass over all hard places. It is 
the thought of the I that makes all the dark crus- 
tations on the inside of our jars. This is one of 
the most difficult things to empty out. 

There has been a good deal of misunderstand- 
ing about the esoteric teaching of the East re- 
garding action. Some superficial students of 
the ancient wisdom seem to read into these 
teachings that it is advisable to always be in a 
state of passivity : that to do nothing but meditate 
is the highest way. This very sentence, " Cast- 
ing off with thy mind all works upon me," has 
been used as evidence that works are not accept- 
able to God. Let us look a little farther into 
the teaching of the Hindoo seer as given in that 
wonderful dialogue between the warrior Arjuna 
and the Lord. 



30 In God's Garden 

In lesson the third we find Arjuna facing the 
same difficulty that besets us when told that 
works are not the highest way. Speaking to his 
heavenly visitor the warrior says: "If thou 
deemest understanding more excellent than 
works, O Troubler of the Folk, then wherefore 
dost thou engage me in a grim work, O Long- 
Haired One? Thou confoundest my under- 
standing with seeming tangled utterance ; tell me 
surely the one thing whereby I shall win to bliss," 
The answer which Krishna gives is long, in part 
this: "Without undertaking works no man may 
possess worklessness, nor can he come to adept- 
ship by mere casting off of works.". . . . "Do 
thy ordained work ; for work is more excellent 
than no work, even the substance of thy body 
can not be won from no work." 

After reading this answer of the Krishna, how 
do we reconcile the command to cast all our 
works on Him. The exact wording is "Casting 
off with thy mind all works upon me," which can- 
not mean to stop working, for in the same dia- 
logue we read, "To cease from action is action." 
Neither can it mean that we are not to think 



The J a r s 31 

about our work and so do it carelessly. Assur- 
edly it means that we are to do what our hands 
find to do well and willingly, but that we are not 
to work for selfish ends, not to let the thought 
of the I get in the way of our progress. Work 
done only to benefit self does get in the way of 
progress. We must work for the uplift of hu- 
manity, for the betterment of the world without 
even a desire for any reward or appreciation or 
advancement of self We are bidden to work 
without thought of fruit of works, else the work 
is of none effect upon us ; but if we surrender all 
fruit of our work unto the Lord we shall have 
our reward in advancement of our spirit. 

These teachings of the sage of India so long, 
long ago remind us of the precepts of the Lord 
Jesus when he bids us to let our light shine, not 
so that our good works will make us rich or fa- 
mous, but that they shall glorify our Father 
which is in heaven. 

Krishna promises his faithful servant Arjuna 
that if he does surrender all fruit of works, if he 
has no selfish motive of gain to himself by what 
he is doing, then inspiration and peace will be his. 



32 la God's Garden 

Truth is one and the same in all times, in every 
clime. The great teachers all see the same light,* 
but each one puts it in a way he deems best 
adapted to the people with whom he is throv/n. 
We who are blessed by living in a day when the 
words of wisdom of many lands are brought to 
us in our own language, may, if we will, easily 
find the utterance best suited to our need, and 
instead of wrangling over seeming differences in 
rehgious creeds, seek out the simple wholesome 
teachings that accord. Lights all pointing to 
the same sign-post. 

The ability to cull these flowers from other 
lands as well as our own, to see the lights from 
over the sea, will be ours when we have obeyed 
the behest to empty out the jars. When we 
are rid of that most disturbing, limiting thought, 
the thought of the I — when we are working 
without any selfish motive — the Master, whose 
command we have heeded to put fresh water 
(purity of intention) into our jars, will come and 
turn the water into wine ; will, when our surren- 
der to His will is complete, and our works all 
*St. John i, 9. 



T h e J a r s 



33 



done with right intent, give us inspiration, ex- 
hilaration, — yea, exultation of spirit, which is 
real joy. 



ings to be emptied out: 


Things to be put in. 


Apathy 


Calmness 


Anger 


Confidence 


Hate 


Courage 


Carelessness 


Kindness 


Indifference 


Justice 


Distrust 


Faith 


Discontent 


Sympathy 


Dissipation 


Truth 


Despondency 


Gentleness 


Insincerity 


Goodness 


Infidelity 


Temperance 


Injustice 


Reverence 


Obstinacy 


Purity 


Irreverence 


Poise 


Suspicion 


Peace 


Worry 


Loyalty 


Prejudice 


Love 



T^h e Torch 

" Wipe not a seat with a torch." 

It may be we have little leisure in life, that the 
time we may sit in the shady nook of the garden 
is very limited ; that we rarely or never can take 
a long walk alone. Our place may be in the 
procession, needs be we must run until we grow 
weary and faint with heavy burdens and feel 
inclined to drop our torch or use it for baser 
ends than we know is the highest. We cannot 
always be running in the procession, nor forever 
holding the torch high enough to lighten the 
path for others. If we happen to be poet, 
preacher, or teacher, we shall desire to do so and 
may hope to keep the blaze bright until the time 
comes to pass it on to other runners in the race, 
so that our message may not fail and that the 
best may win. 

All down the ages there have been great torch 
bearers, some whose names are blazoned on the 
very air; some who perchance worked as hard 
as those fortunate ones, yet whose names are 



T h e T o r c h 35 

unknown to us. Whether their names are re- 
corded here or not matters httle, for they are 
engraven in the Book of Life, Those souls 
whose lamps have burned brightly and been 
held high still hold their torches, even though 
they have gone beyond mortal vision. 

There have always been and always will be 
children of Prometheus, who like that Titan god, 
steal the fire from heaven and are chained to 
the rocks by necessity, that grim goddess who is 
even higher than the three-fold fates: When we 
see ourselves and our brother man chained to 
the rocks of Time we blame inexorable Fate. 
But why blame anything but self? If we have 
misused or debased our heavenly fire, it is but 
just that we should suffer. Among the symbols 
of Pythagoras we find this : '* Do not wipe a 
seat with a torch." Like all of the great philos- 
opher's teachings, this precept is terse and tell- 
ing. A seat is someting earthy, it belongs to 
our animal nature. 

When we need rest or recration a seat is good, 
it has its use just as the body has. The Samian 
sage takes it for a symbol of the body. Should 



36 In God's Garden 

we wipe a seat with a torch, we would smut it, 
possibly burn it, certainly not do it any good, 
and probably extinguish the torch. In conse- 
quence of its participation in fire the torch is a 
symbol for philosophy, for light, for life. By 
making a wrong use of it we not only defile the 
torch but run the risk of losing its light. 

Prometheus was punished for stealing the heav- 
enly fire. He turned his torch downward instead 
of upward. This myth of the Titan's theft rep- 
resents mankind as misusing the creative energy. 
Celestial fire should be conserved to lighten our 
souls and the souls of others. 

There is fire enough within each breast, if the 
torch is kept up and burning bright, for inspira- 
tion and for blessing; fire enough to keep the 
temple warm and light. The holy embers 
should not be wasted, but handed on to light 
new fires for souls yet to be born. We must 
not confuse the eternal, inspirational fire with 
earth fire, — that which burns outside the temple. 
This fire the lame god Hephaestus used well, — 
his furnace was always ready. This first black- 
smith was not only a forger of metals but a most 



The Torch 37 

skilful worker in precious metals. With what 
marvelous rapidity did he comply with Thetis' 
request for a new armor for Achilles, and what a 
wonder of workmanship this armor was! Not 
only metal makers but potters used this earth- 
fire well. The potters of Attica became famous 
for their annual torch-light race, — when they 
ran all the way from the Ceremicus to the 
Acropohs to pay tribute to their beloved goddess 
Athene, who with her own great torch not only 
lighted the brains of Athen's men of might, but 
who showed the potters how to bake the clay 
and taught the women how to cook. If the 
women of Greece had always taken Athene for a 
guide in household matters, we should not find 
Alcestis' sisters cooking old Pelias in Medea's 
pot Wisdom would have told them that while 
ram may be made to seem like lamb by proper 
boiHng ; man cannot be made young by any 
process of stewing. It were well to entertain 
Athene often in our homes. She will help us to 
trim the lamps ; she^will tell us when the kettle 
boils; she will teach us to weave and spin and 
do all kindsiof beautiful needlewerk ; she will 



38 In G o d's Garden 

select the best in literature for us ; she will in- 
troduce us to some very famous persons, or bet- 
ter still, some rare souls who worship wisdom. 
Athene does not care whether we sit on a marble 
bench, a wicker chair or on the ground when we 
converse with her, but she does need our torch 
held high to light the path when she comes to 
make us a morning or an evening call. 



Taking Athene to Walk 

" Sprung from the head of Jove, of splendid mein, 
Purger of evils, all-victorious queen." 

We cannot always be digging in our garden, 
nor forever resting in the shady bower ; some- 
times we must move about. If for exercise and 
fresh air we choose a walk and have no earth 
companion whose step is suited to ours or who 
enjoys the same tramps, we may always have a 
good companion. 

Often it is said that one may sit at home and 
converse, in the silence of the study, with the 
best minds, the high and lofty spirits of the 
ages. This is true. We may, through books, 
commune with kings and queens, philosophers 
and poets, saints and martyrs and seers ; — but 
one cannot always be reading. That there are 
powers, as the Albion bard poetically says, which 
of themselves our minds impress, who feed us in 
a wise passiveness, we know. This food Words- 
worth found by the lakeside, in the fields and 
meadows, sitting on an old gray stone or on a 
4 



40 In God's Garden 

country road, "Stepping Westward." We, too, 
may find it, — whether our face be turned to the 
rising or the setting sun; towards the Polar Star, or 
towards Fomalhaut Whether we are taking a 
short walk in town or a long excursion into the 
country, a most delightful companion is the god- 
dess Athene. She will come at our bidding. If 
we do not know her well enough to invite her 
for a tramp, let us seek an introduction. Her 
ancestry matters not : she has made a name for 
herself In Egypt, before Isis' day, she was wor- 
shipped : a stern, cold, virgin goddess then, 
not vitally interested in real life. Her worship 
was brought to Greece by Cecrops (who is no 
longer deemed a myth). A temple was built to 
her on a high rock, which in after days became 
the famed Acropolis of the fair city named for 
this virgin goddess, whose name ages before had 
been changed to Athene. This name was given 
when the myth was woven which proclaimed 
that wisdom cometh from on high : that wisdom 
is the feminine part of the godhead. Athene, 
best beloved daughter of Jove, mothered in his 
brain, sprang forth full-grown and accoutred for 



Taking Athene to Walk 41 

battle. How men delighted to carve her form 
in stone and marble, or fashion it in bronze, in 
gold and in ivory. Of the great festivals held in 
her honor and the grand processions to celebrate 
her worship we form some little idea from the 
exquisite marble frieze of the Parthenon, which 
temple, builded by loving, skilful, unpaid hands, 
stands to-day, even in its ruins, an example of 
architecture for all time — the only perfect tem- 
ple ever built on earth. The Parthenon makes 
all other temples seem insignificant and illy pro- 
portioned. Yet other fanes were built to honor 
Athens' goddess, and her statue adorned the 
frieze or the tympanum of many temples dedi- 
cated to other divinities. Still the Attic plains 
speak to us of Athene and the men of might who 
worshipped her, while the city that bears her 
name is rebuilt to-day in glistening marble from 
Pentelicon. We have not so many works of 
art, so many beautiful buildings as had the city 
which Milton calls Mother of Arts ; we have 
not so clear a sky to view the beauties of nature 
by ; nor so much charm in such little space, 
Greece is a miniature world : every beauty of 



42 In God^s Garden 

nature is there in close communion. In our 
own dear land we have valleys as green, hills as 
blue, mountains snow-capped, as fair isles and 
seas ; lakes rivers and waterfalls of far greater 
magnitude ; but the distances are so great we 
cannot see them all at a glance ; — we need to 
travel far and wide to become familiar with the 
beauties of nature in our country. Yet, whether 
we travel a little or a long way, it is equally 
desirable to take Athene with us. She is not 
only the Goddess of Wisdom who will help to 
enlighten our minds and teach us useful lessons 
from the little as well as the great things of life, 
but she is queen of the air; her robe is of ether 
woven by her own hands ; so when she is by our 
side we feel bouyant ; our step grows lighter ; 
our feet scarcely touch the ground ; our tread is 
elastic ; we feel almost as if we were walking on 
air. We shall not only tread lightly, we shall 
breath deeply, till the habit of deep, rhythmic 
breathing becomes automatic. Also we shall 
hold the chest high and fully expanded. We 
note what a curious medallion Athene wears 
upon her breast. We shall borrow it sometimes 



Taking Athene to Walk 43 

and wear it, for it will make us glad when we 
look at it to think how many forms of ignorance, 
how much of prejudice, what a quantity of dark 
clouds, have been dispelled by Wisdom. 

The Gorgon is dead ! Her wail, when dying, 
Athene has woven into music* Now the god- 
dess wears this head upon her breast as a symbol 
of power. It shows that evil, ignorance, dark- 
ness, dread, may all be turned to good account 
when illumined by wisdom. This clasp we may 
wear, remembering that we too have some part 
to play in the work of dispelling clouds still sur- 
rounding many of our sisters. The Gorgon's 
head will help our friends and frighten our foes. 

What is it that the goddess wears about her 
shoulders that the Gorgon's head rests upon? It 
is the aegis of Zeus : that wonderful shield which 
the strong arm of Apollo could shake at will. 
Athene is the only goddess who wears the aegis. 
We shall also know it is she when we see the 
goat's skin on chest or arm or shield. This 
mantle was made from the skin of the goat that 
nourished Zeus when he was a babe. Its hundred 
*XII Pythian Ode, Pindar. 



44 If^ God's Garden 

golden tassels are the lightning which the father 
of gods and men, the great Cloud Compellor, has 
added to the shield. That the hghtning, once 
believed to be only a malign force, now is used by- 
all, tells us that Wisdom walks the earth as well 
as flies in the sky. And we may borrow the 
shinning segis, with its fringe of golden tassels. 
If we make Athene our boon companion she will 
gladly loan it to us. How safe we feel with this 
impregnable skin about our shoulders; neither 
heat nor cold, nor arrows nor microbes can now 
molest us. The golden tassels fall over our arms 
and give us power. How easily now we could 
conquer our foes, — but we seem to have none. 
For wearing the aegis betokens that we are fa- 
vorite children of the heavenly King, — ones sent 
to help the less fortunate or younger brothers 
and sisters ; who when they see the golden tassels 
will be attracted to our side and feel protected. 
But our heads must not be turned down, even 
to picture the aegis or the Medusa, on our chest. 
We must walk with head erect, remembering 
that Athene wears a helmet. This we shall need 
for balance while we are walking on air. The 



Taking Athene to Walk 45 

head must not grow light, no matter how rapid 
or springing the movement of our feet. The 
head must not go too far back — that gives the 
idea of hauteur. With the helmet of Athene on 
we need to stand erect, to have exact poise. 
Let the tip of the ear be just over the shoulder, 
then the top of the shoulder on a straight line 
with the hip, which line should end just where 
the ball of the foot touches the ground. Now 
we can take a godlike pace, with no fear of the 
helmet falling off. Our arms may feel like fly- 
ing off at a tangent, so that we are inclined to 
swing them. If we are bounding over a field, 
this does not matter; but if we are walking in 
town where we need to be more decorous, we 
may ask Athene for her pole. Not the big one 
with the bronze spear on top with which she 
goes to battle, but the smaller one, made from 
her own favorite olive tree. This is not heavy, 
it will not only be a good balance, there may 
be just a suggestion of a bud on top, which will 
speak to us of victory and of peace. 

If we have Athene by our side we shall be at 
peace with ourselves, with the world, and with 
God. Every obstacle will be overcome, every 
fear removed, when we make a practice of taking 
Athene to walk. 



Our Rlement 

Who walketh upon the wings of the wind ; 
Who maketh his angels spirits ; 
His ministers a flaming fire. 

The ancients spoke of four elements, and were 
more nearly right than we are with our seventy- 
four or more. For while air, fire, and water each 
contain three and earth has nine of the real 
elements, when speaking poetically we still 
use the term element for these four most impor- 
tant forms of matter. The astrologer divides the 
year into triplicities : giving three months to the 
earth people ; three to the fire folk ; three to the 
water babes ; and three to children of the air. 
We are said to belong to one or the other of 
these triplicities, according to the month in which 
we made our appearance on this planet : for in- 
stance, those born under Libra, Aquarius, or 
Gemini are of the air ; those under Aries, Saggit- 
tarius or Leo will be more attracted by fire than 
by air ; touch will be less developed in fire people 
than sight. Children born under Virgo, Capri- 



OurEleTnent 47 

cornus or Taurus need earth : they like to go 
barefooted and to sit on the ground. Those 
coming under Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces take 
most readily to water. 

In oriental lore the so-called elements repre- 
sent the points of the compass, also one of the 
physical senses ; — thus : 

Earth, the North, is smell ; 

Water, the South, is taste ; 

Fire, the East, is sight ; 

Air, the West, is touch. 

The frozen North, with its spire-like icicles 
pointing downwards, while they cling to earth, 
brings the scent of the overworld. 

The limpid, liquid South, which, mirror-like, 
reflects the North, tastes the fragrance as it 
melts overhead. 

The East, with its hope of another day, its 
light and its fire which bestows so many useful 
arts on man, well stands for sight. 

The air is the widening West, as yet unex- 
plored, giving promise of that to come, — the 
touch of wisdom trying to awaken dead matter. 
The air is necessary to water, to earth, and to 



48 In G od's Garden 

fire. It fans the flame. There could be no 
light, no fire, without the air. When the air 
moves more swiftly than usual it produces sound, 
— that wonderful breaker of the silence. Sound 
is the voice of God in the garden. The 
Apostle tells us that He maketh the wind His 
messenger. The Psalmist declares. He rideth on 
the storm. Pythagoras says to his pupils, "The 
wind blowing adore the sound." The wind rep- 
resents wisdom, and we should love the similitude 
of divine essences. We should listen for the 
message of the air ; when it is very, very, still it 
speaks to us of the mighty power of silence ; 
telling us how great is the Creator, who works 
such marvels without a sound. It tells us that 
sound is the breaking of that wonderful wave of 
silence. When the air is stirring very gently, 
fanning the butterflies' wings, drinking the dew 
upon the rose's leaves, so quiet perhaps that on 
our check we cannot say which way it blows ; yet 
a moistened finger held up will feel the cool and 
know which way the air is moving. Some pains 
it takes to discern wisdom's ways in the micro- 
scopic things of nature. Often the breeze 



Our Element 49 

comes rustling through the trees, making the 
leaves sing; each tree produces a different tune; 
and if we listen attentively the song will tell us 
something. Then we shall not wonder that oracles 
arose in groves and that some men and women 
were wise enough to gain beautiful and timely- 
lessons from the voice they heard in the oaks, or 
pines, or laurel trees. The listening sent them 
inside ; adoring the sound, sent them out again. 
This going in and out put their souls in such har- 
monious rhythm that the messenger's voice was 
audible. At times the mighty wind becomes 
boisterous, it shakes the trees ; those that are 
still young and flexible it bends almost to the 
ground. It chases the leaves about the lawn ; it 
chases the clouds along the sky; it ruffles our 
hair ; it lifts our hat. It is no longer a gentle 
zephyr kissing the cheek, bidding us listen to a 
soft whisper. The rapid play of the air makes 
it difficult to listen now, for sound waves are 
slow ; but we may feel its message as it sweeps 
the sky and earth and clears the atmosphere. 

Just as the breath in our lungs will sometimes 
sing and sometimes wail ; will shout for joy or 



50 In God's Garden 

thunder with anger; this breath, which, rightly- 
controlled, gives life and health and happiness, 
and when not controlled often riots and gets on 
a strike and makes us ill ; — so the wind, the 
gentle spring-like zephyr; the mild, sweet sum- 
mer breeze ; the autumn ; clearing storm, is so 
sharp and biting in winter time, as it comes over 
the frozen ground, that we forget to listen or to 
adore the sound.* 

There are times when the wind seems to lose 
all control, coming in every direction, it tears up 
trees, blows down houses, makes fearful havoc, 
even wrecking human lives. In a hurricane or 
cyclone the sense of fear takes the place of the 
sense of worship. We no longer listen, we stand 
and dread or run and hide our heads. The wind 
is still His messenger, though we have lost the 
power to listen to the message for a time. Yet 
sooner or later we shall see the work of His strong 
arm in the devastation of the plain, the destruction 
of forest and of human habitations ; yes, even in 
the loss of life on land and sea, through the power 
of the wind, — for He rides upon the storm ! 
* St. John iii, 8. 



Medit ation 

Thy testimonies are my meditations. 

While working in our garden or sitting in our 
bower we shall often find a few moments for 
meditation. It is well to set aside a time each 
day, — early in the morning, at noontide, or at 
night, — for this helpful exercise. 

Many persons who indulge in day-dreams im- 
agine that they are meditating. Others, who 
know that dreams are usually too indefinite to 
take the place of meditation, will perchance try 
so hard to bring their minds to bear on a subject, 
that they concentrate rather than meditate. 
While the habit of concentration will always be 
an aid to meditation, the reverse is not true. 
There are those of a contemplative mind much 
given to meditation who never for one whole 
minute have concentrated. Do we fully under- 
stand these two methods of mental develop- 
ment? 

To meditate means to think upon. We may 
take any subject, not necessarily a religious one. 



52 In God's Garden 

but preferably a serious subject ; though not one 
to worry about. 

If we desire a restful meditation it is always 
safe to take nature. " Let's talk about the 
weather," means that you and I who may 
differ in religion, politics, and philosophy, usu- 
ally find a common meeting-ground in admir- 
ing a sunny sky or abusing a cloudy one. Many 
minds that find no resting point in religious 
meditations, that tire with philosophic specula- 
tions, when communing with Dame Nature, meet 
with soothing subjects to dwell upon : find 
plenty of food for thought, each soul getting its 
own ahment from such excursions. 

One man, meditating on the stars, sees the 
Great Original behind the orbs of heaven ; an- 
other man sees only law and order. Some search 
beyond the known and seek new suns or new 
instruments by which to determine the substance 
of the planets and stars. 

One, meditating on water, finds a way of sep- 
arating it into its elements ; another writes a 
poem ; a third hears a melody. Every day new 
creations come from meditating on the earth. A 



Meditation 53 

rose, a lilly, or a daisy, means botany to one 
man ; to another poetry. The individual takes 
the food he needs from Nature's lavish hand. 
We should not always meditate upon an object. 
We may take an idea and thereby unravel more 
of philosophic truth or perhaps invent a new 
object The man who first meditated on the 
sun and drew a circle on a stone, as a symbol of 
his sun-god, gave us the letter O. The man 
who meditated on the movement of the sun and 
put that thought into form, gave us the wheel. 
One who meditated on the crescent moon, as it 
sailed in and out of the clouds, and cut a piece 
of wood of like shape, gave us a boat. The 
moon to him was a sky-skiff ! 

The poet, meditating on the perfection of 
nature, found that the lily was fair enough with- 
out paint, that the rose needed no new perfume, 
the rainbow no added tint. Another poet, med- 
itating on a field of waving daffodils, gave to the 
imaging faculty a fadeless picture. 

The meditative man has given us wonderful 
word-pictures, marvelous inventions; much food 
for philosophic thought and deep religious feeling. 



54 In God's Garden 

There are manifold things upon which we 
may meditate to our profit. If our faculties are 
not sufficiently alert or well enough trained to 
gain fresh food by thinking on nature, we 
should aid this defect by reading carefully or 
committing to memory something a seer has 
seen and recorded. Gray's Elegy is full of word- 
pictures and every lime is perfect. A poet of 
our own day gives us a picture of plowing, with 
many helpful suggestions. One is that the eye 
be fixed upon a point to ensure the furrows 
being straight. The point the eye is fixed upon 
represents purpose. Before we can cultivate 
our nature so as to make straight furrows we 
must have purpose in life, and be able to say 
with St. Paul, — this one thing I do. Have we 
a fixed purpose ? Do we know what God's pur- 
pose is for us? Are we yearning to know? Do 
we meditate deeply on this subject? If so we 
shall soon find out what we are here for, — what 
is purposed for us to do. 

When in a dilemma as to a duty, when anx- 
ious, or uncertain, or careworn, or unhappy, one 
of the very best methods of finding a smooth 



Meditation 55 

path is to meditate, not upon the subject that is 
troubHng us, — for if we keep thinking of a mat- 
ter that worries we often get more and more 
perplexed, — but by taking the mind wholly off 
an unhappy theme we find rest and give the 
light a chance to break through the cloud. As 
one nail drives out another, so one thought can 
displace another. As the way to drive out dark, 
is not to fret about it, but make a light ; so the 
way to drive away dark and troublesome thoughts 
is to light the lamp of our mind by dwelling on 
some wise saying. There are illumining texts of 
scripture in the literatures of all lands. Each 
one of the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the 
Mount is worthy many hours of meditation. 
Very many of the Psalms are profitable themes 
for such exercise. If when reading we do not 
readily find words that sufficiently arrest our 
attention we may resort to help from a saint, or 
seer, or prophet, who has gleaned for us. Some 
find in Thomas a Kempis what they fail to gain 
from the Bible, Others gain from Socrates or 
Marcus Aurehus or Swedenborg or Sir Thomas 
Browne what they need for food for thought. 



56 In God's Garden 

When the sunHght bhnds us we should resort to 
the shade. Some persons prefer lamp light to 
read by, others read best by electric light. We 
need not, however, despise candle light, even if 
we have arc lights. 

We are bidden to take of the Water of Life 
freely, we are not told that any one fountain or 
pool or stream contains all the good. Inspira- 
tion is not limited to the Castallian Spring; 
health to the pool of Bethesda ; nor baptism to 
the river Jordan. Though told that Life is more 
than meat, we are not forbidden to partake of 
flesh ; * not required to become ascetics or an- 
chorites. 

Adeptship is not promised to the few who 
abstain from all pleasures ; but radiant life is 
promised to those who live under the law of love. 

Let us meditate upon the words of many 
teachers ; but let us obey only the teachings of 
the Master Seers : they never differ, save in the 
way of presenting truth. 

* Timothy iv, 3. 



The Healing of the Nations 

To him that overcometh will I give to eat 
of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the 
paradise of God. 

Probably there is no book in the world, of like 
length, that contains so much esoteric teaching, 
so much hidden lore, as the Revelation of St 
John the Divine. A great deal of the teaching 
is purposely obscure, that we may have to dig 
for the treasure and that the meaning may not 
be found by those who are not ready for such 
strong food, such deep truths. Some passages 
in this wonderful book yeild their message 
through meditation ; others require concentra- 
tion and prayer and repeated readings before 
their meaning is clear. Where the seer is re- 
counting the rewards awaiting those who have 
overcome, we find the promise to give power 
over the nations (our bodily parts). The rod of 
iron which we are told shall rule these nations is 
our will. To keep the will always at work, to 
be forever willing the right and not the wrong 



58 In God's Garden 

is a most difficult task ; and so it is that the na- 
tions are often at war : that anarchy exists instead 
of righteous rule among our members. Hence it 
is that the lord of all the nations of the earth, — 
the self, — suffers. It is a blessed thing to know 
that besides the rod of iron, by which we are to 
rule ourselves, there are other helps : that there 
■are ways and means of healing the wounded ; of 
restoring the downtrodden powers. 

There is a tree growing in the midst of the 
garden, we are told, whose leaves are for the 
healing of the nations. The leaves that grow 
upon this mystical tree are the fruits of the spirit : 
Love, Joy, and Peace are on the topmost 
branches. We are continually reaching out for 
these most desirable leaves, forgetting that the 
lower limbs of the tree must first be sur- 
mounted. 

One of the leaves lower down, and the first we 
should use, is Temperance, — physical, mental and 
-spiritual temperance. We certainly know what 
physical temperance is — not total abstinence 
from anything good, but a regulated body. 
Mental temperance includes tolerance; — spiritual 



The Healing of the Nations 59 

temperence eschews fanaticism and exercises 
self-control in prayer, avoiding vain repeti- 
tions. 

The second leaf we need is Meekness. Per- 
chance we have been too high and mighty ; too 
self-important. If we have thought we could 
rule others without first having ruled ourselves, 
we have lacked one of the qualities most neces- 
sary to the subduing of the nations. 

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit 
the earth. Let us bow our proud heads and 
bend our stiff wills for a few moments each day 
to the Lord of all the worlds and learn from Him 
lowiness of sprit. 

The third leaf, in order upwards, is Faith. 
Having put our will in harmony with the higher 
will, we easily reach the branch on which the 
leaf of faith is growing. It is not readily plucked. 
We handle it ; we see its beauty ; its strength ; 
daily it grows more desirable in our eyes; but it 
takes an effort to make it ours. When once we 
possess it — then it seems like a great rock to sit 
upon, like a great cloud to shelter us from too 
much light. 



6o In God's Garden 

Yes, it is a bed to lie upon ; it is a field fair, 
fertile, full of grain : it is an arm to lean upon ; 
a hand to lead us on. O Faith, fair, fair Faith, 
thou dost dispel all doubt of the Omnipotent 
One; all distrust of His goodness. His justice. 
His wisdom, His truth. 

Next we find two little leaves growing close 
together. We take one in either hand. Their 
names are Gentleness and Goodness : two god- 
like qualities. These are easy to pluck when 
our faith in God and man is firm. 

Now we see a long, strong leaf for which we 
need take a wearisome climb. Longsuffering is 
its name. This leaf no one at first desires. " How 
can it play any part in healing me," we cry, and 
would turn back, but that our feet, now planted 
on the steam where Faith's leaf grows are rooted 
here, while our heads are lifted up so that we 
see wherefrom Peace and Joy proceed and know 
the only way to gather these most desirable 
leaves is by climbing on the stem of Long- 
suffering. 

It is the law of creation that none may escape. 
Light is even born of dark. The night proceeds 



The Healing of the Nations 6i 

the day ; grief is of the night, but joy comes in 
the morning. 

When the eighth leaf hes in our lap we smile, 
for Peace is now at hand. Our long suffering 
seems but a dream : we are sitting on the shore 
of the boundless sea ; the light which doth from 
glory proceed is shed upon our path. We are 
now conscious of the truth that the leaves of this 
tree are for the healing of the nations. Seeing 
the reflection of real light we think of that verse : 
And the nations of them which are saved shall 
walk in light of it. The light not only dwells in 
our heart, as it does in the heart of every one of 
God's children, but the life more abundant is 
now throbbing in our pulse, urging us on to 
higher goals, bidding us spread the good news. 
Shout the glad tidings, exultantly sing as we 
climb to the topmost branch where Love grows. 
We wave to those below to rise from the rocks 
and climb the tree. We take hold of the life- 
rope and try to see how many souls we can help 
to find the way to the shore of peace ; to the 
hill of joy; to the haven of love. 



Concentration 

" The throne of the soul is there, where interior 
and exterior worlds fuse. There is fusion at 
every point at which they interpenetrate." 

Meditation may or may not be an aid to con- 
centration ; but concentration will not only help 
in meditation, it is necessary to any serious 
study. Every child should be taught to con- 
centrate, otherwise how expect proper attention? 
Without the ability to attend with eye and ear, 
much will be lost or acquired very slowly and 
with difficulty that could be learned quickly and 
easily if the habit of concentration has been 
formed. 

In our schools, and even with private tutor- 
ship, the child is usually thrust into arithmetic, — 
expected to concentrate on a whole row of 
figures without first having been taught any 
of the elements of concentration. Is it any 
wonder that half of the children say, "I hate 
arithmetic"? They would not, if it were made 
attractive to them and their tender minds were 



Concentration 63 

drilled in concentration by means that attracted 
attention. It is more difficult to concentrate on 
a pinhead than on a sunset. It taxes the brain 
more to give attention to figures than to pictorial 
symbols. We are usually careful about the 
child's limbs, letting it creep ere it walks ; not 
lifting it by its arms ; not expecting it to carry 
heavy weights. But of the mind how cruelly 
careless we often are, insisting upon attention to 
minute matters before exercise has been taken 
on the larger sense-objects. 

While interior concentration is what we most 
need and must ultimately strive for, it is well to 
begin with the exterior; best at first to take 
large objects as easier and more restful to the 
mind ; if we happen to be near water, the line 
of the horizon, rather than the waves at our feet. 
We should learn to look out, to gain distance. 
Sitting on the sand by the lake or sea we may 
not only watch the horizon intently, but for a 
change may take a distant sail. We should not 
try to determine what kind of a craft it is that 
holds that sail or who is in the boat ; we are not 
now thinking about objects, just looking at them 



64 In God^s Garden 

intently. Watch the sail till it is lost to sight, 
shutting out all other sights, and, if possible, all 
thoughts ; for we are not meditating upon the 
sailboat, we are trying to concentrate upon it ; — 
and concentration is to bring all our thoughts 
to a centre : fix our entire attention on an object 
or a sound. 

If we are in the mountains, it is well at first 
to take the furthermost peak. It is likely to be 
blue, — which color is especially good for the eyes 
to rest upon ; and if distant enough, no minor 
objects, such as trees or rocks, will suggest 
thoughts to change the concentration into medi- 
tation. 

If in the forest, take a tree or a distant clump 
of trees — or the top of a tree against the sky; 
later we may take a single leaf, or bud, or flower, 
but large objects at first are easier to hold the 
mind. Whatever the place or object we should 
gaze without interruption, without letting the 
thoughts rove for a few minutes. 

If on the prairies or near an open bit of coun- 
try, take the line of light which is so often rosy 
at morn or eve, hold it in your vision and note 



Concentration 65 

only its fading. If we live in a crowded place 
and have no good sky-view, yet we may find 
one tree whose top seems to meet the sky, as 
did our English poet who wrote : 

" I remember, I remember 

The fir trees dark and high. — 
It seemed as if their slender tops 
Were close against the sky." 

At night we may observe the moon or one of 
the planets, a brilliant star, a white cloud, or a 
distant light-house. Out-of-doors concentration 
is always helpful. It will imprint beautiful pic- 
tures on the brain which we may recall at will. 
Should it be our misfortune to be indoors most 
of our days it is well to have at least one beauti- 
ful object in the room where most of our time is 
spent. It is almost better to have nothing than 
to have too many things. How could anyone 
concentrate in a curio-shop, a bazaar or a second- 
hand store? Yet many of our modern living- 
rooms are such places. A collection of hetero- 
geneous objects is very disquieting and detri- 
mental to a pacific mental mood. 

It is well to have one room in our earth castle, 



66 In God's Garden 

no matter how tiny, free from objects that distract 
the mind. If we have no room exclusively our 
own, a curtained corner will do for meditation; 
and if the walls are plain, and not more than one 
object to attract attention, the corner will do for 
concentration. We know those who have not 
even a corner for their very own. They may 
have a closet, and to the inside of the closet door 
a sheet of white paper may be pinned on which 
a blue or green disc has been glued, — a piece 
of blotting paper the size of a silver dollar. If 
your eyes are perfectly normal, light blue is the 
most pleasing to gaze at steadily. If you are far- 
sighted, a medium blue is better, — the shade 
most agreeable to the eyes will tell how far- 
sighted you are, and using the right shade helps 
to restore the sight. We should take a low 
chair or cushion so that both feet may reach the 
floor (not crossed), though if liked we may sit on 
the floor Buddha-fashion — the hands resting on 
the thighs, palms down. We should look at the 
spot on the paper for from one to five minutes, 
at a distance of from three to four feet If we 
get too near it may cause a dizzy feeling. Do 



Concentration 67 

this exercise twice daily, — thinking of nothing 
for the time ; shut out all mental images, all 
sound, if possible ; just look at the spot. If 
after repeated trials it is still difficult to concen- 
trate, it is well to change the position of the hands. 
Let the right thumb gently press the left palm, 
relaxing the rest of the hands ; preserve a steady 
firm pressure of the thumb. This tends to in- 
crease will power. 

Someone will ask: "What can I possibly gain 
by looking at a spot that tells me nothing? It 
is because it tells no tale of joy or woe, suggests 
nothing special to our mind, that it helps us to 
concentrate. Learning to look at this small spot 
of color on a white background is much the 
same exercise to the brain as learning to hold 
pen, pencil, or charcoal is to our hand. Our 
instrument needs training, if it is to do our work 
for us. 

The Hindoos have an exercise for concentra- 
tion, which is to look at the end of the nose 
and at nothing else for an indefinite period. This 
is rather hard on the eyes, but there is no objec- 
tion to trying it for a few seconds. These chil- 



68 In God's Garden 

dren of India, wise in many things, we have not 
yet learned, teach a number of exercises to con- 
trol the breath. 

The habit of breath-control tends to control 
the mind. Some persons find it helpful to hold 
the breath for a moment before concentrating ; 
others find it better to take a very deep breath, 
which helps to steady the mind. This will usually 
relieve a timid person from fear. 

These exercises for breath-control, explained 
at much length in some of the theosophical 
books, are called Raga-yoga. 

There is also the exercise of repeating a word 
or a syllable rhythmically. This they call Man- 
tra-yoga. It is supposed to quiet the thought — 
for it tends towards sleepiness. This may be 
the form of prayer referred to by Jesus when he 
says : Make not vain repetitions as the heathen 
do. While of some value as an exercise, it is 
hardly efficacious as prayer. 

The third form of concentration recommended 
by the Hindoo teachers is that of bringing the 
mind to bear upon one idea, — all forms of con- 
centration lead up to this ultimately. 



Concentration 69 

But to return to our disc. If looking at it 
steadily pains the eyes, the color is too light, or 
there is some astigmatism. If looking at the disc 
makes one dizzy, then we are either setting too 
near or gazing too long at a time. We should 
then rest for a day or two and try again, sitting a 
httle farther away. Those who cannot use the 
disc are sometimes helped by using a tumbler 
half full of water to gaze into. If one begins to 
see many things in the glass, then desist, for it 
may become as fruitful as crystal gazing, which 
is not well for everybody and may develop 
something quite the reverse of concentration. 

When we can, without great effort or any bad 
feelings, concentrate for from three to five min- 
utes on any exterior object we are ready for in- 
terior concentration, which is higher and more 
important as a factor in our mental development 

The first exerciseiis to imagine a spot or circle 
at the base of the brain, close the eyes and look 
at it from the inside. The next thing is to im- 
agine any simple figure, — a point, circle, triangle, 
cube, or vase ; close the eyes and see this figure 
of our own making just behind the forehead, be- 



70 In God^s Garden 

tween the eyes. Be very careful at first to only 
use the steady gaze inward for a few seconds, 
otherwise we tire the eyes. This exercise may 
be varied by concentrating, with the eyes closed, 
on any imaginary object until it is quite clear. 
A simple and pleasant example is a large red 
rose : see it ; then take it in your hand, smell of 
it, let the color and odor seem real to your senses 
until you are immersed in the color and the fra- 
grance. This is very restful. 

When we have learned to concentrate easily 
on either exterior or interior objects, being able 
to hold the mind to a given point without per- 
mitting it to run off on any side-track, then we 
may take a subject or an idea, having now our 
minds under some control, we shall be able 
to hold the thought to the question we wish to 
so Iveor the idea we desire to expand. Whatever 
we wish to be, — writer, inventor, extemporary 
speaker, — the practice of concentration on an 
idea will be helpful ; for it will clarify the per- 
ception, enlarge the imagination, and strengthen 
the will. 



Creative Concentration 



" Whatsoever thing is potent, prosperous, 
or forceful, know that this same springs from 
a portion of my splendour." 

An excellent exercise in Creative Concentra- 
tion is to make a plant grow. Rudolph Steiner 
in his Way of Initiation advises the student to 
experiment on a seed of a familiar plant, — pref- 
erably a vine, — say a morning-glory. Lay the 
seed in the palm of the hand; gaze at it steadily. 
See the root come out and grow down. Then 
see the stem arise, follow it in your mind's eye 
till the vine has attained its normal height. See 
it put forth leaves and buds, going slowly, step 
by step, till it blossoms. Now see the blossom 
fade, the vine gradually wither and die down to 
the ground. It is asserted that if you repeat 
this exercise daily for a time you will be able to 
see the astral of the plant, and in this way, by 
much practice, you will learn to see other astrals. 
Another exercise that has been beneficial is to 
begin with a common earthern flower-pot. Close 
6 



72 In God^s Garden 

your eyes, if you choose. See the pot on the 
floor directly in front of you. Fill it with rich 
black earth (still only in your imagination), firmly 
plant a shoot of ivy, a bulb or sprig of a rose 
tree. See it take root ; then let the stem grow. 
Let the leaves slowly unfold one by one. Later 
have a single flower appear, a lily or a rose. 
After some practice of this kind you may test 
your creative ability, doing this exercise in the 
presence of a few friends to find out if you can 
make another person see the same thing you 
have imaged. Preferably have about nine to 
twelve persons present ; of that number two or 
three will be able to see your plant, if your will 
is strong and your image clear to yourself. In 
an audience of forty or fifty probably not more 
than six or eight persons will see your creation. 
Some may see it slightly different; showing that 
they are themselves creating images. This ex- 
ercise is a wonderful lesson ; for it brings the 
fact home to us that thought is creative and tells 
us that all our thoughts, whether we will them 
or not, are forming images. We see how advis- 
able it is to control the current of our thought, 



Creative Concentration 73 

so that the creations we are making in the astral 
world may be pleasant to look upon. We are 
hourly writing in the Book of Life, though we do 
not always see what we are writing. If it hap- 
pens that our life is too mental, that we are 
workers in any field requiring excessive concen- 
tration, as a teacher of mathematics, a banker, a 
lawyer, or a preacher, then we need rest for the 
brain, and if the required rest is denied us in the 
form of out-of-door sports, — boating, swimming, 
sailing, climbing, digging, golfing and the like. 
If we have no prattling children, no singing birds, 
no blooming plants or charming music to rest 
or to soothe our weary brain, there is a very 
simple exercise we may use. The home- 
opathist has a saying that like cures like. Yes, 
one nail drives out another. So when weary 
from too much concentration we may rest by 
concentrating, — only on something very different 
than that which has caused our fatigue. Some 
persons find refreshment by imaging the odor 
of flowers or spices, — in the sensuous gratifica- 
tion, forgetting time and place. If troublesome 
thoughts persist, or tiresome repetitions, or the 



74 In God^s Garden 

brain is greatly fatigued, it is the best plan to 
take the thought-current right to the heart. You 
cannot think in your heart ; the brain tires. The 
heart is a great reservoir of rest. By an action 
of the will draw the life fluid away from the brain. 
Slowly but surely concentrate upon the current 
and try to feel it going down the left side of the 
head and neck and bring it into the upper cham- 
ber of the heart It touches your spirit there 
and will rest till you give it leave to go up stairs 
again. The mind tires with greatness as well as 
with littleness. The brain is finite, but in the 
heart you reach the portals of the infinite. The 
spirit never tires. In close communion with 
the self the mind realizes its littleness and in awe 
it will wait for the spirit to speak. It is during 
these moments of intercourse with our spirit that 
we learn what we are to do, and after repeated 
seasons of repose the refreshed mind becomes 
more and more creative. 



Suggestion 



Since the roots of our nature are established 
in divinity, from which also we are produced, 
we should tenaciously adhere to our roots ; for 
streams also of water and other offspring of 
the earth, when their roots are cut off, become 
rotten and dry. 

Suggestion is still an experimental science. 
Much has been written on the subject, and a 
good deal of light thrown upon the mystery of 
the workings of the human mind in its hypnotic 
and semi-trance states, by workers in this field 
of psychology. 

The power of suggestion is well known to the 
physician, and in the hands of an intelligent, con- 
scientious person it is a power for good We are 
still on the outskirts of experiment in this field, 
having explored scarcely more than the border- 
land. We may have read Charcot, and Bjornson, 
and Balfour, and believed all they tell us of the 
marvelous power of suggestion. We may even 
have seen some cases, or ourselves experienced 
this power in the hands of a skilful operator, and 



76 In God's Garden 

yet not realize the enormous significance of these 
experiments or the truth that they should im- 
press upon us : that the mind in sickness and in 
health, in youth and in age, is ever taking on 
impressions. It is being moulded, not only by 
its environment, taught by what it sees and 
hears, but greatly influenced for bad or good by 
the thoughts of those near and far, who try to 
influence our attitude towards life. 

If we understood the power of suggestion, we 
would all be more careful in the presence of the 
young, the mentally weak, or the physically ill. 
Why is it that when our physician comes into 
the room we feel better? Someone will say, 
"The confidence I feel that he will help me." 
Yes, that is good so far. Again we hear, " The 
taking off the responsibility." Yes, that is a 
factor towards the help we feel. Another will 
say, " He is so strong and so cheerful, I feel 
buoyed up in his presence." If the physician is 
as intelligent as a man should be to follow that 
profession, he knows that much depends upon 
our mental attitude ; therefore he is not only 
serene and cheerful in his manner, but betrays 



S u g g e s t i o n 77 

no agitation that will lead us to think our case 
serious. He will put into our mind the idea that 
we are better, that we shall soon recover. In 
other words, he not only cheers us with his 
kindly face and his words of encouragement, but 
he leaves with us the thought of health. By the 
power of suggestion, this wise man helps us to 
realize that we may be well ; and if he has 
studied the subject of suggestion seriously, not 
only when present will he give his encouraging 
thought, but instead of worrying about his pa- 
tients when absent he will send a strong wave of 
active good towards them, knowing that thought 
is potent to travel and to act at a distance. It 
is a universal wireless. It is of great importance 
for a physician to be of a sanguine temperaments 
an opimist in the highest degree. Suggestion 
has been used with wonderful success, not only 
by helping to heal physical ailments, but moral 
deficiencies. 

If we but believed that all we think travels 
faster than a horse can trot, a motor can roll, or 
even a telegram can run on the wires, and that 
one's thoughts act for good or for evil on the 



78 In God's Garden 

brains of others, we would endeavor to control 
our thinking apparatus and send forth strong, 
helpful, happy, healthy thoughts into the world 
about us. 

Understanding the great power of suggestion, 
we shall be extremely careful of the environment 
of the very young. When the brain is soft and 
before it is filled with impressions is the time 
that it is most important for sweet influences to 
surround the child. If the unborn babe, as we 
now think, can be impressed by the mother's 
thought, surely the growing infant should not be 
left to foolish, ignorant, thoughtless nurse-maids. 
Suggestion is often more potent with the young 
than with the mature person. Children are 
nearer to the animal state. Just as a horse or a 
dog is affected, so is a child. Some children 
are more easily controlled by a strong thought- 
current than by the spoken word. Especially 
with an obstinate disposition, a child will often 
resent a spoken command, but will be influenced 
by a well-directed thought Many women rule 
their husbands in this way. They keep thinking, 
and thinking confidently, and soon the man sug- 



Suggestion 79 

gests what his wife has willed him to, while he 
never suspects the thought is not his first. 

It is no new discovery that the thought-cur- 
rent works at a distance. "Absent treatment " 
is as old, if not older, than Homer's day. In the 
Iliad we read of wounded Hector helped by 
Apollo. But even before the healing god ap- 
peared, we are told that the will of Zeus 
reached the wounded hero, enabling him 
to sit up and stop vomiting blood. Hector 
had prayed to the All Father that he would 
send Apollo to his aid, yet before Apollo 
stood beside him he felt the effect of the strong 
thought of Zeus. He had put his will in har- 
mony with that of the Father of gods and men. 
Absent healing is all well and good, but often 
the patient is near by, and we may use the 
power of suggestion just as well at home as 
abroad. The same strain of thought has fretted 
and worn the brain. Say that it is a woman with 
many little cares. Sometimes a little friendly 
chat about a frivolous matter, a jest, a surprise, — 
something that startles one a little, — will do away 
with a worry headache. Sometimes this is not 



8o In God's Garden 

efficacious. Try another method : for example, 
I visited a friend who had a dreadful pain in her 
head. Thinking she might be better if she could 
forget it, she had welcomed a group of young 
women who were preparing for a ball. They 
laughed and chatted ; but instead of being bene- 
fitted she suffered more and retired to another 
room and lay on the sofa, her hand to her head. 
I saw she was willing to be helped, so I sat 
beside her and said : " Come with me, let us 
take an air-line for Atlantic City. We can go 
without even an air - boat — just let us float 
through the air. Ah! see the sea ; let us sit on the 
sand, it is so clean and white ; how cool the sea 
breeze is, see the waves are all white-capped. 
How many gulls there are, — let us rest each hand 
on the back of a gull and go out with them to 
the very end of the waves ; out, out, clear to the 
horizon!" Long before we had finished the 
trip, — sooner than I had expected, — my friend sat 
up, opened her eyes and said : "Why the pain 
in my head has all gone." She had for a mo- 
ment forgotten herself 



Auto-Suggestion 

" With the radiant lamp of knowledge dissi- 
pate the darkness bom of ignorance." 

If one mind can affect another at a distance or 
near at hand; if our environment means so 
much ; if it is true that the thoughts and the 
feehngs of those about us react upon us ; how 
natural it is to beheve that we can affect ourselves 
by our own thought. It has been said that our 
good thoughts, which are positive, go forth and 
actively affect others, but that our evil thoughts, 
which are negative, react and only hurt ourselves. 
In a sense this is true. Good is more potent 
than evil, and certainly the evil things that we 
think are more harmful to us than to others. It 
is very important that we should be able to con- 
trol our thoughts before we try to control the 
actions of others. If we are to be a power in 
the world we must first regulate ourselves. 
Before we start to entertain we usually furnish 
our house. Before we start to lecture, to preach, 
or to teach, we need to furnish our own minds. 



82 1 71 God^s Garden 

So before we begin to heal others it is better to 
be in health ourselves. 

The thought-currents active in the cerebrum 
can be used for self-adjustment, — can be im- 
pressed upon the cerebellum, which portion of 
the brain controls the bodily parts. We used to 
be taught that all the workings of the organs of 
our body were unconscious. Now we say sub- 
conscious. It is true that only one portion of 
the brain is actively conscious. In many persons 
but one lobe is used. When both lobes are well 
developed one can think of two things at a time. 

If the repetition of a syllable induces concen- 
tration, as the Hindoos teach, certainly the rep- 
etition of a thought will produce an effect on 
our non-thinking parts. Try a very simple ex- 
periment. Tell yourself what time you wish to 
awaken in the morning. Say it decidedly and go 
to sleep confident that you will awake at the 
hour named, and you surely will. If we tell 
ourselves anything many times, or with strong 
emphasis, we come to believe it. If with firm 
will we impress upon ourselves the thought that 
we are well, are kind, are tender, are just, are 



Auto-Sicggestion 83 

helpful ; if we strive never to think anything 
offensive of ourselves or others ; never to cloud 
even the horizon of our minds with untruth, with 
pernicious or fallacious thoughts, but fill our 
minds with cheerful, happy, wholesome thoughts 
about God and man, we shall soon feel the 
effect. Cheerful thought is to the mind what 
sunshine is to the body. Wholesome thought 
is like a gentle breeze that dispels the clouds. 

Where one thing is another cannot be. If our 
minds are full of pleasant, peaceful, joyous 
thoughts, there will be no room for the other 
kind. 

We cannot dispel dark with dark. We can- 
not fight evil with evil. To take out the dark 
we must put in light. 

We are in doubt, — we feel despondent, de- 
jected, despairing, — there are a lot of words 
beginning with D that have no place in a healthy 
mind. There are just as many beginning with 
L, — better and stronger ones. 

Light drives out dark ; Love takes away 
doubt; Life overcomes dejection and despond- 
ency. How are we to get these three Ls to 



84 In God's Garden 

take the place of all those deep, dark hells ? Open 
the shutters, raise the curtains, go out into the 
open. For mental light, read cheerful, helpful 
books ; hear good music ; talk to optimistic peo- 
ple. For spiritual light, pray. 

Then, love not only everybody in the world, 
but love God. We say we do, — but do we? If 
we do love God, we can have no doubts, no 
despairs. Lastly, we must live ; for hfe over- 
comes dejection and despondency and discontent. 
If we are really living, not just existing or luxu- 
riating from day to day, we shall never find time 
to be despondent. If we feel ourselves getting 
dull or dejected and the liver is inactive, the way 
to overcome "the blues" is to do some active 
good to others. Call on a friend who is in afflic- 
tion. We can always find someone more de- 
jected than ourselves. We must speak words of 
cheer; we should give away something (not just 
old clothes, or books, or furniture that we no 
longer want ourselves). Do live things ; act ; 
live in the fresh air as much as possible. Have 
flowers about us; give flowers to the sick, to 
children and to those in affliction. 



A ut - Suggestion 85 

If our circumstances are such that they do not 
permit of our giving away anything tangible, we 
may at least send forth a host of kind thoughts. 
If we have no plants to tend in our home, we 
may surely cultivate flowers in the garden of our 
heart and send them out into the world in the 
form of kind words, friendly greetings, smiles, 
good thoughts. Let us never forget that 
thoughts are very potent. 

If we have any enemies or any acquaintances 
that have maligned us or otherwise treated us 
badly, we must pray for them. If we obey 
this command of our Lord to pray for those who 
despitefully use us and persecute us, we shall 
find that those we thought our enemies will be- 
come our friends. 

Should our own affliction be such that we 
know of none other so oppressed, to whom we 
can go with a helpful word, then let us consider 
the deep sorrow of the Blessed Mother of Jesus. 
See her standing by the cross and sympathize 
with her, — for no woman ever bore a greater 
weight of woe and bore it so bravely. If this 
does not suffice, think of Him who was nailed 



86 In God^s Garden 

upon the cross, — who freely gave His Hfe for 
His friends. Derided, despised, spat upon. He 
prayed for those who persecuted Him ! 

Should it be that our portion in life contains 
no friends, flowers, music, pictures, fresh air, or 
sunshine, still we may talk to God. 

Once, when visiting the woman's prison in In- 
dianapolis, I was much impressed by a very old 
negro woman who, confined in a narrow dingy 
cell, lay on the floor and sang. I stopped and 
asked her some questions. She said she was 
quite content ; yes, she was happy. She had a 
bed and enough to eat and sometimes a kind 
person to speak with ; but, best of all, " de Lord 
can hear me in dis here cell as well as He could 
outside." 

The warden told me it was the second time 
the old women had been "sent up " for stealing 
a chicken, which she declared she did on pur- 
pose so that she could " get took care of for the 
winter." It seemed to me a novel way of get- 
ting one's living. But she was happy, she knew 
that He who knoweth our necessities before we 
ask, had forgiven her theft; — even if her brother 



Auto- Suggestion 87 

man thought it necessary to deprive her of her 
freedom. The old woman had settled it with 
God; — so she sang her hymns and was happy. 

The blessed privilege of confiding in the 
Heavenly Father belongs to all His children; 
though all do not avail themselves of this chance 
for happiness. We read constantly in the Old 
Testament of men who talked with God. Every 
creature should enjoy talking to his Creator 
direct and without the intervention of another. 
We say we are the children of God, — but do we 
believe this precious truth? 

In the practice of auto-suggestion, a thought 
that should be impressed by the thinking mind 
upon the subconscious mind, — the first thing in 
the morning and the last thing at night, — is the 
nearness of God to His offspring, — the love of 
God for His own. 

It may be necessary at first to have words to 

make the thought clear to the mind. Here are 

a few forms to say aloud, then to think : 

I am a child of God ; 

He made me ; He does love me ; 

He will care for me ; He understands me. 

I will call upon Him ! 



S8 In God^s Garden 

I am a child of the Heavenly King ; 

I am an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven ;* 

The Kingdom of Heaven is within me ! 

I am a child of the Most High ; 

There is a part of infinite substance within me ; 

I will evoke it ! 
It is light ; it is love ; it is life ; 
I will fan the flame until I am burning 

with love for God. 

I will arise and go to my Father ; 

I will lift up the gate of my garden wall 

and bid the King to come in. 
I can rest in the knowledge of His love. 

*Rev. xxi, 7. 



The Garde?i Gates 



Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye 
lift up, ye everlasting doors ; and the King of 
glory shall come in. 

Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation and 
thy gates Praise. 

Have the gates of death been opened unto 
thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the 
shadow of death ? 

As THERE are twelve gates to the city over 
there, the New Jerusalem, there should be twelve 
gates to the city here, — the one builded by the 
pattern that is above. We hear the body of 
man referred to as a temple, a tabernacle, an 
earth house, a robe of clay, a shroud, a plot of 
ground, the dust of the earth, a garden, a city. 
Some of the seers of India liken the earth body 
to a city with nine gates, — others give it ten 
gates. If we think far enough we shall see that 
it has twelve gates. All here below is but a 
reflection of what is above. Our bodies are in 
minature very like the great city over yonder. 



90 In Go d^s Garden 

The mental picture of a city makes us think 
of many persons, of riots and noises, and strange 
vibrations, that wear upon the nerves. Our body 
has within it many riots, many murders, much 
noise and confusion and very many strange vi- 
brations. It is more than a city ; it is nearly a 
world ! The microcosm is a minute reflection of 
the macrocosm. Yet the body itself is neither a 
city nor a world. A city or a world uninhabited 
is no more than a plot of ground. So when we 
look at our body as something distinct from the 
self a habitation for the soul, then a garden is 
perhaps a better picture to bring before our 
mind than a city. We have thought of the por- 
tion of earth allotted to us for soul-culture as a 
garden. We have thought of a wall surrounding 
our cultivated field. We know that there are 
gates in the wall. What are these gates and 
what is their use? To the north are seven 
gates, well known to us: two to look forth from ; 
two to admit sounds of the outer world; 
two from which to gain the fragrance of the air ; 
one where the breeze best blows, where we take 
in food and give out sound in the form of song 



The Garden Gates 91 

or of spoken words. These seven gates are very- 
precious to us, — we dislike to have even one of 
them out of order. Only when one gets rusty 
and will not open do we realize just how much 
we depend upon these gates for our pleasure in 
life. To the south are three gates. To these 
we rarely give the attention that we should. 
Sometimes these gates squeak on their hinges, 
or open and shut with difficulty, as the waste 
from the garden is carried forth. It is well to 
clean out the back-yard at intervals, not let the 
garbage-can get too full ; else we may find it 
necessary to call in a mechanic to mend the 
south gates. One of these three gates is not for 
daily use. It should be locked except on festival 
occasions. It should be carefully guarded and 
only opened to one who can give the countersign. 
A secret gate there is higher in the wall than 
any of the ten. It is narrow and more difficult 
of egress. It was spoken of by the ancient seers 
only to the initiates. The Lord Jesus alludes to 
it in the Sermon on the Mount, saying that it 
leads to life ; * then adds, few there be that find 
* St, Mathew vii, 13, 14. 



92 In God's Garden 

it. It was the illumination of this eleventh gate 
which, on the day of Pentecost, gave such elo- 
quence to the disciples of the Nazarene, so that 
they spoke in strange tongues. These men had 
for forty days prayed that they might receive 
this illumination. They had prepared their 
hearts, had placed a sacrifice upon the golden 
altar.* The spirit made ready by sorrow had 
lighted the fire ; so the flame ascended and came 
forth from the narrow gate ; then the angel guide 
took the fire and cast it back to the earth. In 
other words, these men of Galilee gave their whole 
hearts to God ; they offered their spirits in all 
humility, and with great desire for reahzation, to 
their Creator, and God sent one of his messengers, 
who are flames of fire, to light their acceptable 
sacrifice. When the flame arose so that the 
angel saw the sincerity of their desire to give all, 
then nothing was taken. The casting of the fire 
down to earth means returning it to the body; 
so that the earth part of man may be vivified 
and purified by this baptism of fire. This the 
angel guide will ever do for the sincere and zeal- 
*Rev. X, 5. 



The Garden Gates 93 

ous soul. This cleansing by the fire of the spirit 
is as necessary to the internal man as bathing 
in water is to the external man. 

Blessed are they that do His Command- 
ments, that they may have right to the tree 
of life, and may enter in through the gates 
into the city. 

What of the twelfth gate of this dear garden 
of ours? It is found within our shady bower 
and opens out. Just now it is a window, one 
from which, most likely, we have never looked 
forth. Perhaps the blinds are shut, the curtains 
closely drawn. It may be the vines have over- 
grown it, so that it does not even admit light, or 
look like a window to us. Some day a visitor 
will arrive, and stand outside that gate, for whom 
we shall need to open it. It were well to draw 
the curtains aside, to trim the vines, and occa- 
sionally to glance out of this aperture ; so that 
we shall not be too startled when the messenger 
appears, who will surely come, some day, to lead 
us forth. He may tap gently ; may come with 
a stealthy step and low rap ; or he may come in 
haste with a heavy stride and a loud knock. 



94 ^^ God's Garden 

Whenever and however he comes, we must un- 
bar the gate, — not to let him in, — he comes not to 
abide; his is an errand of a different kind. He 
comes to summon us to a great feast. He will 
lead us into new pastures, besides the still waters 
and bid us drink of the Fountain of Life and 
partake of the fruit of the Tree which bears every 
month. * 

The twelfth gate does not open into our gar- 
den ; it opens outward into fresh fields ; where 
we shall find new work to do ; and where we 
shall be exceedingly joyful, if we are ready for 
the journey. From the twelfth gate we go out 
but once ; it closes behind us and we cannot 
return. Nor shall we look back regretfully to 
our shady bower when once out in the great 
world beyond. 

"When all the knobs of the heart are untied 
the mortal becomes immortal.'^ 

That they might be called trees of right- 
eousness ; the planting of the Lord, that he 
might be glorified. 

* Rev. xxii, 2. 



In God^s Garden 



95 





Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Sept. 2009 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 
(724)779-2111 



